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Kathmandu Saturday October 14, 2000 Aswin 28, 2057.
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Whose responsibility ?
Yet another close escape for passengers flying from the
international airport. This makes it the third close escape from bird strike since
the operation of a roadside landfill next to the airport. When a body took the
responsibility of allowing the disposal of waste next to the airport should that body now
not be accountable for their act.
Firstly, no EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) was done
prior to the operation of the landfill thereby making the present dumping operation
illegal. Secondly, the operation was opposed by all experts and the locals citing various
reasons - ecological, religious and environmental yet the Ministry of Local Development
went ahead with the dumping site stating that it was an environmentally sound project and
there was no danger to air traffic.
How did they declare it an environmentally sound project
without undertaking an EIA and with the third bird strike in less than a month it has been
amptly demonstrated how safe it is. This is an ideal example of misuse of authority and
blatant and intentional misleading of the public which in any civic society would be
considered a punishable crime.
Though the red alert has been sounded the dumping operations
continue - is the government waiting for a crash before it awakens from its slumber and
makes amend. The government has been lately identifying scapegoats for their
inefficiencies - it is time somebody was held responsible for the gross mismanagement,
lack of vision and the waste of public resources in the management of the city waste. If
the government had any ethics it should resign en masse to take the responsibility for the
decadence that has set in since the establishment of the multi party system, for one of
the cornerstones of democracy is "all for one and one for all".
Bimal Rawal
Kathmandu |
